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Q: I know this is the opposite of the question most people have, but I want to GAIN weight. I'm ok with putting on a little bit of fat, but I want to gain mostly muscle. What kind of workouts should I do? If it makes a difference, I'm a 26 year old man who's been doing some weight training for a while, but I'm just starting to get consistent with it. - D.S, Westminster
A: It definitely makes a difference - this question will have different answers depending on your "training age" (how long you've been working out with weights), as well as your gender.
Really, the first thing any beginning lifter needs to do is develop a good base of strength, and that means going against most of what you see in the bodybuilding magazines. Don't waste any of your energy doing single-joint exercises (bicep curls, shoulder raises, calf raises) unless you have a particular strength deficiency you need to address.
Instead, focus on basic compound movements: Squats, deadlifts, standing shoulder presses, bench presses, and pullups are great ones. Get a good trainer to help you with any of the exercises you don't know - squats and deadlifts in particular.
For your first few months, don't worry about getting too complicated. The ol' "3 to 5" scheme is great: Do 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps of 3-5 exercises, 3-5 days per week, with 3-5 minutes rest between sets. Start off with weights that seem too easy, and gradually build up so you're really working hard at about week 3. Pullups can either be done with added weight, with less assistance from a pullup machine, or just for more reps than the 3-5.
As a new lifter, you'll be able to increase the weight (or reps for the pullups) every time you do a particular lift for quite a while. When you reach the point where you can't increase the weight for two workouts in a row, it's time to back off a little bit and start building up again.
A woman who is trying to gain weight should still start with this program, but may need to start adding in higher repetitions sooner. Since women don't have the same level of testosterone as men, they need to rely more on sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, (building muscle size by drawing in sarcoplasm, or cellular fluid) if they want to focus on getting bigger. Regardless of the workout, however, women can't put on the same level of muscle as men without the use of steroids.
Advanced trainees need to do a much wider variety of lifting to gain mass, and the best quick answer to "what should I do?" is "whatever you haven't been doing".
After all that though, the key to gaining weight is eating! You can train as hard as you want, but if you're not getting in enough calories, you're not going to put on any mass.
Focus on getting concentrated, healthy food sources to make it possible to eat enough. Nuts and seeds are excellent choices, and you should consider adding supplemental omega-3 fatty acids. Cook your veggies rather than eating salads (cooked veggies won't fill you up as much), and eat plenty of protein. As is true for everyone, refined carbohydrates aren't your best choice, but you can get away with a little more than someone who is trying to lose fat. Try to stick with whole-food sources like whole grains, legumes, and sweet potatoes though.
Good luck!
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Check out Starting Strength for another great beginners' option!
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